Daily Press Writer
MONTROSE — U.S. Senator Ken Salazar, who met with representatives of the Delta-Montrose Electrical Association Wednesday, is optimistic that the senate will pass comprehensive immigration reform soon.
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“The bill that we had put together was comprehensive in nature,” Salazar said. “It was a bipartisan bill supported by Republicans and Democrats, endorsed by the president. I think frankly we ran out of time (before Easter recess). There were about 400 amendments that were still pending to the legislation. We just didn’t have enough time to get through.”
Immigration reform has been a huge political issue in recent weeks. Grand Junction and other communities around the country have seen massive rallies to support immigrants’ rights.
At the same time, many Americans want Congress to adopt tough immigration legislation. They want the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants deported and a wall constructed across the southern border of the United States to keep out illegal aliens.
“We need to deal with the economic reality in a realistic fashion,” Salazar said. “For people like (Rep.) Tom Tancredo who say that there is only one fix and that is to put a wall at every one of our borders, I say get real.”
Tancredo, R-Littleton, has been an outspoken critic of U.S. immigration policy and has led the fight in the U.S. House, which passed a strict immigration bill recently.
Salazar said immigration reform must be more broad than the House bill. It should increase border security while balancing the economic realities.
“The people who make our breakfast, the people who make our beds when we stay in a hotel, the people who milk the cows that produce the milk at the 156 dairies in Colorado, they are all people who are part of the 11 million person (illegal immigrant) workforce,” Salazar said.
He added, however, that reforming the economic aspect of illegal immigration is difficult when thousands of people cross the border every month. He said securing the border is a national security concern.
“We are talking about national security, making sure we have a national border security program,” Salazar said. “We can’t do that today when we have 400,000 people coming into the country a year.”
He said the Democratic leadership in the Senate want to readdress immigration reform next week. Salazar said Democratic concerns about a compromise with the House bill can be addressed but he acknowledged “some of the conservative wing of the Republican Party will never be satisfied with any bill we (the senate) come up with.”
Salazar also spoke about his recent trip to Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he met with thousands of soldiers and was encouraged by their morale.
“They believe in what they are doing,” Salazar said. “They are committed and I support them 100 percent.”
He said the country can still support the troops but also has a right to be critical of the way the War on Terror has been managed.
“They are on the ground with a mission given by the commander in chief and I think all Americans should support the troops,” Salazar said.
“That doesn’t mean we have to agree with the way the president and the administration has managed the effort. ... We need more competence on the effort in Iraq.”
Salazar said he will focus this year on passing energy legislation and is going to begin work on the 2007 Farm Bill. He said he sees similarities with the energy issues facing the country and the need to sustain agriculture.
He said the country has not done enough to reduce its dependence on foreign oil. He said bioenergy and new technology can help the United States reduce its need for foreign sources of energy.
“I think we need to take a look again at national energy policy,” Salazar said.
DMEA representatives showed Salazar several innovative approaches to dealing with the country’s energy crisis.
“Technology has opened up a lot of possibilities,” Salazar said.
Contact James Shea via email at Jamess@montrosepress.com
Kaitlyn Heichel wrote on Nov 3, 2009 2:01 PM:
Sarah Bond wrote on Jul 13, 2009 5:31 PM: